


Zero to Hero

by MedieavalBeabe



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Disney Genderbend - Fandom, Disney Hercules
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Genderbent Disney Hercules, Mythology - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 12:27:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4305030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedieavalBeabe/pseuds/MedieavalBeabe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Ancient Greece, Zeus and Hera are blessed with a baby girl, Hercula, but when she is stolen and turned mortal by the dark Goddess Hadria, Hercula must use her Goddess strength and good heart to find her place in the world...and save the man she loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Gospel Truth

“Many eons ago...

 

“Back when the world was new,

 

“The planet Earth was down on its luck,

 

“And everywhere gigantic brutes called Titans ran amok,

 

“It was a nasty place,

 

“There was a mess wherever ya stepped,

 

“Where chaos reigned and earthquakes and volcanoes never slept,

 

“And then along came Zeus,

 

“He hurled his thunderbolt, he zapped,

 

“Locked those suckers in a vault, they're trapped,

 

“And on his own stopped chaos in its tracks,

 

“And that's the gospel truth,

 

“The guy was too "Type A" to just relax,

 

“And that's the world's first dish,

 

“Zeus tamed the globe while still in his youth,

 

“Though, honey it may seem impossible,

 

“That's the gospel truth,

 

“On Mount Olympus life was neat,

 

“And smooth as sweet vermouth,

 

“Although, honey it may seem impossible,

 

“That's the gospel truth...”

 

XXX

 

Mount Olympus was abuzz with life as every benign God who ever existed gathered to celebrate the birth of Zeus and Hera’s newborn child. Little Hercula lay in the white shell-shaped cradle her Mother had just placed her in and looked around with awe and curiosity, not entirely sure of what was going on or why there were so many people around her. Zeus chuckled in delight as he waved his forefinger in front of her face and his daughter giggled and seized hold of it, picking him up off the cloud floor.

 

“She’s strong just like her Dad,” he laughed, causing Hera to smile.

 

“Excuse me, hot stuff coming through!” Hermes, the Messenger God and Zeus’s right-hand immortal, came flying past the others with a large bouquet of flowers, which he presented to Hera.

 

“Why, Hermes, they’re lovely,” she smiled.

 

“Yeah, I had Orpheus do the arrangement,” Hermes chattered, flying over to Zeus. “Fabulous party. You know, I haven’t seen this much love in a room since Narcissus discovered himself.”

 

He nodded over at the God busily admiring himself in a mirror. Hera looked down to see her daughter fiddling with one of her Father’s lightning bolts.

 

“Honey, keep those away from the baby,” she scolded.

 

“Oh, she won’t hurt herself,” Zeus protested, just as Hercula tried chewing thoughtfully on the bolt and proceeded to zap herself with it. Annoyed, she tossed the thing away, causing the rest of the Gods to duck and Athena to whip out her sword to deflect the bolt into one of the columns, which, this being Mount Olympus, promptly rebuild itself the second the bolt destroyed it.

 

No one criticised, however. Everyone was in too merry a mood and Zeus for his part found it extremely funny.

 

“On behalf of my daughter,” he announced as Hera picked her up for all to see, “I want to thank you all for your wonderful gifts!” He waved a hand at the lavish golden pile in the corner, which included a bow and arrow, a ship, a harp, a chariot and a cornucopia overflowing with golden apples. 

 

“What about our gift, dear?” Hera asked. 

 

“Well, let's see here,” Zeus said, thoughtfully, taking a few clouds and moulding them together to make the shape of a horse. “We'll take... Hmm, yes. A little cirrus and, uh, hmm, a touch of nimbostratus, and a dash of cumulus.” He formed a small pair of cloud wings and held out the shape to Hercula. To her surprise, the clouds moved and then a small white foal with a blue mane and tail, sporting two white feathery wings on its back emerged and sniffed at her. Experimentally, it leaned right out of Zeus’s hands but was brought back up by its wings, which made Hercula smile in delight.

 

“His name is Pegasus,” Zeus smiled, “and he's all yours, daughter.” Hercula leaned forwards and playfully butted her head against Pegasus’s, almost stunning the little foal. Pegasus in turn gave her a sloppy lick on the cheek, and then, deciding he liked her very much, nuzzled up to her, causing Hercula to wrap her tiny arms around the little foal and hug him tightly. 

 

 

“Aw!” the other Gods cooed. Pegasus flew over to Hera, watching over her shoulder as the Queen of the Gods handed her daughter gently over to Zeus.

 

“Mind her head,” she smiled, softly. 

 

“She's so tiny,” Zeus replied, looking over the child in admiration. Hercula yawned and briefly closed her eyes, clearly all the excitement of the day was too much for her, and Zeus held her close. “My girl,” he murmured. “My little Hercula.”

 

 “How sentimental.”

 

All the Gods turned to shoot a glare at the Goddess hiding in the shadows who had finally decided to turn up.

 

Hadria, Lady of the Underworld, stretched her thin grey arms as she leaned off the column she had been lurking behind and ran a hand over her flaming blue hair. “You know, I haven't been this choked up,” she crooned, “since I got a hunk of moussaka caught in my throat!” 

 

No one laughed.

 

 “So, Hadria, you finally made it,” Zeus said, amicably, slinging an arm around his sister’s shoulders. Hadria scowled, darkly, hating that kind of physical contact with her older brother. “How are things in the underworld?” 

 

“Why, they're just fine,” Hadria smirked, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she removed her brother’s arm. “You know, a little dark, a little gloomy, and, as always, hey, full of dead people, but what are you gonna do, huh?” She turned to the cradle where Hera had just put her daughter and leaned over her. “Aw, doesn’t she look just like her Mother, thank Olympus? Well, I brought her a little something...” She reached within her robes and brought out a rather deadly-looking skull and bone pacifier, promptly dropping it when Hercula grabbed her finger and squeezed hard. With a yelp, Hadria pulled herself free and examined her crushed finger. “Powerful little tyke,” she muttered, shooting the girl a withering look.

 

 “Come on, Hadria, don't be such a stiff,” Zeus said. “Join the celebration!” 

 

“Hey, love to, big brother, don’t get me wrong,” Hadria drawled, “but unlike you gods lounging about up here, I regrettably have a full-time gig that you, by the way, so charitably bestowed on me, Zeus. So, can't. Love to, but can't.” 

 

“You ought to slow down,” Zeus replied. “You'll work yourself to death. Hah! Work yourself to death!” 

 

Everyone laughed, apart from Hadria. 

 

“Ha, ha, very funny,” she muttered, darkly under her breath as she stalked away, “I don’t think.”

 

Making her solitary way back to the Underworld, throwing a few steak to her faithful three-headed guard dog Cerberus along the way, Hadria was deep in thought. For centuries she had been planning this hostile takeover of Mount Olympus, but the birth of this little Godly brat could upset the balance so much that the scales could fall completely out of her favour.

 

“Pain! Panic!” she shouted, storming into her cavern, robes and smoke billowing in her wake.

 

“Coming, your most lugubriousness!” The two Shapeshifting horned imps who acted as her minions hurried down the steps, slipped, rolled over together and landed in a heap at their Mistress’s feet. Hadria rolled her eyes as they leapt to their feet and saluted her. “Pain and Panic, Ma’am, reporting for duty!”

 

“Fine whatever,” Hadria sighed. “Just let me know the minute the Fates arrive.”

 

“Oh, they’re already here, Your Ladyship,” Pain said, and Panic nodded.

 

Hadria rounded on them both. “What?” she practically screamed. “The Fates are already here, and you didn’t tell me!” Pain and Panic instantly started grovelling at her feet and she sighed, calming down quickly. “Note to self, main the two of you later!” She swept away from them and made her way into the room where the three wizened, shrivelled old men who shared one eye and one tooth between them, the Fates, were cutting yet another mortal’s thread of life. As they did so, a shrill scream pierced the air and the soul of an elderly woman came drifting past them and into the River Styx with all the rest. Hadria smirked and walked towards the Fates. “Gentlemen, so sorry that I’m-”

 

“Late,” one of them finished. “We knew you would be.”

 

“We know everything,” another added. “Past, Present-”

 

“And Future,” the third finished.

 

“Right, right, so anyway,” Hadria began, “My brother Zeus, you remember him, now has-”

 

“A bouncing baby brat!” the Fates finished as one. “We know!”

 

“Look, all I want to know is if this kid’s gonna mess up my hostile takeover bid, or not,” Hadria sighed, getting irritated. “What do you think?” 

 

“Oh, no you don't,” grumbled the tallest of the three. “We're not supposed to reveal the future.” 

 

The smallest one nodded, in doing so knocking out the eye they shared and Pain and Panic yelped as it bounced over to them and tossed it back and forth to one another, until Hadria caught it deftly in one hand and held it out to the Fates.  

 

“Gentlemen, please,” she crooned in her most reasonable tone. “My fate is in your hands.” 

 

The Fates exchanged a glance and sighed.  

 

“Oh, alright,” the first one groaned and they conjured up an image to illustrate their words.

 

“In 18 years, precisely,” they recited,

 

“The planets will align ever so nicely.

 

“The time has come to be at hand.

 

“Unleash the Titans, your monstrous band.

 

“Then the once proud Zeus will finally fall,

 

“And you, Hadria, will rule all! "

 

"A word of caution to this tale:

 

"Shall Hercula fight, you will fail.” 

 

Hadria erupted with another burst of fiery rage before calming herself again and stalking back to her chambers. “Pain, Panic, I have a riddle for you. How do you _kill_ a God?”

 

 “Er, you can’t,” Pain said, scratching his head. “They’re immortal.” 

 

“Bingo!” Hadria snapped. “So, first you’ve got to turn the little brat mortal!” 

 

“Oh, um, how do we do that?” Panic stammered, cowering just in case Hadria blew up on them again.  

 

Hadria crossed to the spot in the room where she kept a very important potion. “With this. Feed it to the little brat, every last drop, and she will lose her immortality. Then you do away with her.” The imps held out their hands but Hadria didn’t give it to them just yet. She turned a dark scowl to them. “Understand this, you two. If you fail, then I will be very, very angry, and you two wouldn’t want to make me angry, would you?” 

 

“No, Your Ladyship!” they both gulped, scurrying away with the potion.  

 

Night fell over Mount Olympus and little Hercula was fast asleep, cuddled up beside Pegasus, who was also fast asleep and making cute like snoring sounds. Unaware to anyone on Mount Olympus, two horned shadows were slipping through the night towards the room where the infant Goddess slept. Pegasus rolled over in his sleep, turning away from Hercula, who barely stirred until she felt herself snatched up from the cradle, which was promptly overturned with a crash that woke her parents in the next room.

 

Startled, the King and Queen of Olympus looked at one another in sleepy confusion and then both gasped “The baby!” 

 

It was too late, however, as they got to the room to find Pegasus wriggling his head out of the cornucopia and an empty cradle.  

 

“Hercula!” Hera cried.  

 

“No!” Zeus bellowed, causing thunder and lightning to flash all around.  

 

“We’re dead!” Panic moaned. “Now we’ve done it! Zeus is going to fry our tails for sure!” 

 

“Just shut up and help me!” Pain groaned as they finally tumbled to the ground with the now bawling Hercula.

 

“Otherwise it won’t just be Zeus we have to worry about.” 

 

“Well, let’s hurry up and kill her already,” Panic stammered.  

 

“Here, kid,” Pain grinned sadistically as he slapped a rubber teat onto the bottle Hadria had given them and shoved it into the infant’s mouth. “A little Gercian formula!” 

 

“Look!” Panic exclaimed, seeing Hercula losing her immortal glow, her hair turning from golden to light red and her skin darkening to mortal colour. “She’s changing! Can we do it now?” 

 

“No!” Pain insisted. “She’s got to drink the whole bottle, every last drop!” 

 

“Is someone there?” 

 

Pain and Panic both jumped, causing the bottle to smash to the floor, wasting the very last drop of potion. As Hercula began to cry again, the two imps hid at the sound of approaching footsteps. Two mortals, a man and a woman, emerged around the side of the rock. The man raised his torch and gasped.

 

 “Alcmene,” he called to his wife. “Over here.” 

 

“Oh, you poor dear,” Alcmene exclaimed, rushing to pick up the beautiful baby girl. Hercula stopped crying at once, feeling safe in someone else’s arms. “There now, dear, it’s alright.” 

 

“Hello?” her husband called. “Is anybody there?” When no one answered, he shrugged. “She must have been abandoned.” 

 

“Amphitryon,” Alcmene said, gently. “For so many years we've prayed to the gods to bless us with a child. Perhaps they've answered our prayers.” 

 

“Perhaps they have,” Amphitryon replied, thoughtfully, examining the symbol around the child’s neck and reading what was written there. “Hercula?”  

 

Unknown to the trio, Pain and Panic were now slithering towards them disguised as snakes, ready to finish the job off. Alcmene suddenly turned and screamed. Before they could strike, however, little Hercula seized hold of them both by the necks, giggling, not a bit afraid, thinking it was all a game. Alcmene and Amphitryon stared in horror and disbelief as she single-handedly tied the two imps together in a knot and threw them over the side of the cliff, laughing as they both yelped and landed hard on the ground below.  

 

“Not good! Not good!” Panic exclaimed as they shifted back to their true forms. “Hadria will kill us when she finds out!” 

 

“You mean _if_ she finds out?” Pain grinned.  

 

 _"If?”_ Panic grinned too. _“If_ is good.” 

 

XXX 

 

Zeus and Hera sent all the Gods out searching for their missing daughter, leaving no stone unturned, but by the time they found her it was too late. As a mortal, there was no way Hercula could return to Mount Olympus, so Zeus and Hera were forced to watch their daughter raised by mortals, thankfully kind and loving mortals who happily raised the child as their own. 

 

But, since she hadn’t drunk the last drop of potion, Hercula still retained her Goddess strength and with each passing year she grew stronger and stronger, so that by the time she was fourteen years old, she was the strongest girl her age. It was hidden, though; anyone who didn’t know the skinny redhead personally had no idea that she was perfectly capable of lifting up a full-sized marble column with barely any effort at all, until they saw it for themselves, of course. 

 

Unfortunately, though, she couldn’t always control her strength, and being something of an awkward, clumsy teenager, this often caused problems, not only for her, but for the rest of the townspeople. They did their best to avoid her in case she caused some mishap or accident that could damage their businesses or lifestyles. Even the children her own age avoided her, so she felt a little lonely, and a little out of place in the world. 

 

But all that was about to change... 

 


	2. Go The Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Ancient Greece, Zeus and Hera are blessed with a baby girl, Hercula, but when she is stolen and turned mortal by the dark Goddess Hadria, Hercula must use her Goddess strength and good heart to find her place in the world...and save the man she loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is how I picture Hercula's singing voice: https://youtu.be/HOYQ1ZFmebk

The cartload of hay raced through the town, with Amphitryon aboard shouting “Whoa! Hercula, slow down!” and their family donkey Penelope on the verge of turning green.

 

“Sorry!” the gangly fourteen year old called over her shoulder as she almost knocked over a couple of people in her haste to get the cart to the market place in time.

 

“Hey, watch it!” one shouted, shaking his fist after her.

 

“Sunday drivers!” grumbled his elderly companion.

 

Hercula brought the cart skidding to a halt in the centre of the market place, and her Father sighed in relief, thankful they had managed to get there in one piece.

 

“Thanks, Hercula,” he said, clambering down from the cart. “When old Penelope twisted her ankle back there, I thought we were done for.”

 

“No problem, Pop,” Hercula smiled, taking hold of the enormous pile of hay on the back of the cart and picking it up, a feat that no other teenager of her build could manage. “Want me to unload?”

 

“No, not yet. I need to go barter with Phineus.”

 

“Oh, ok.” Hercula dumped the hay back down, the jolt causing the cart to tip up and send Penelope flying into the air. “Oops! Sorry, Penelope!” Hercula called.

 

“Now, listen, Hercula,” Amphitryon said, scratching his head, “I know you like exploring and stuff, but perhaps this time it’s best if you just-”

 

“I know, I know, wait by the cart,” Hercula reeled off, holding out her ams and catching Penelope. The donkey gave her a grudging lick on the cheek as she put her back on the cart.

 

“That’s my girl,” Amphitryon smiled. He knew, as well as anyone, that her amazing strength could cause more mishaps than an attack by the Titans, but nonetheless he was proud of his daughter, just like Alcmene. He ruffled her hair, playfully, and left.

 

Hercula sighed and hoisted herself up beside Penelope, affectionately scratching the donkey’s ears and deciding that this time she wouldn’t get into any scrapes with her goddess-like strength. Sometimes the immense power she had to lift things ten times her own weight frightened even her.

 

The people made a point of avoiding her when they saw her sitting there, and she tried not to mind too much, but it was hard, being treated like an outcast all the time.

 

“I don’t know, Penelope,” she sighed, turning to the donkey, who offered her a curious expression. “Am I ever going to be able to control my strength?” Penelope’s ears went up and down, and Hercula took that as her way of saying that she simply didn’t know. “Well, this time, I’m not going to go looking for any trouble,” Hercula added, clenching her fists. “I’m going to show them I’m not a freak.”

 

Turning her head, she noticed a commotion in the potter’s store, as the potter himself, Demetrius, struggled with an enormous pot that was much larger than he was.

 

“Oh, no, no,” he muttered, staggering with the pot, and almost falling over. “Oh, whoa-oh!”

 

“Careful!” Hercula ran up and just managed to steady the pot before it could hit the ground.

 

Demetrius sighed in relief. “Oh, thank you, thank you.”

 

“No problem,” Hercula smiled, peering around the side of the pot at him.

 

His expression changed at once. “Hercula?” Immediately, he managed to pull the pot out of her hands. “It’s alright, my girl, I’ve got it!”

 

“Are you sure?” Hercula asked. “Maybe I can-”

 

“Uh, no, no, no, that’s fine, I don’t need any help,” Demetrius insisted, ushering her out of the shop and pulling down the curtain.

 

“Well...” Hercula blinked in surprise. “Alright.”

 

She was about to make her way back to the cart when a wooden disc came her way and landed in the dust at her feet. Surprise, she glanced up to see Helena and her friends, clearly waiting for a passing boy to return the discus to them. When none of them did, Helena pouted and called “Hey, pass it this way!” as she made her way up, and then froze upon seeing who her discus had landed in front of.

 

“Hey, Helena,” Hercula smiled, picking it up. “What are you doing?”

 

“Oh, just boy-spotting,” Helena answered, vaguely, holding out her hand for the discus.

 

“Can I join you?” Hercula asked.

 

“Well, gee, Hercula, we’d love you too, only, well, there’s five of us already, so...” Clearly scrabbling for an excuse, Helena snatched back the discus with a garble “See ya!” and ran back to her friends. Hercula could hear them giggling together.

 

“What a jerk!”

 

“Detructo-girl!”

 

“Maybe we should call her Jerkula!”

 

With a sigh, Hercula wandered back to the cart, her spirits a lot less lower than they had been five minutes ago. She hoped Amphitryon would come back soon from negotiating with Phineus, and then they could go home again. Home, where no one thought she was some kind of weirdo just because she was a lot stronger than she looked.

 

The discus came sailing over her head again, and she automatically jumped up and ran after it. “I’ve got it!” she cried, but then she tripped over her own feet and collided into a nearby pillar, and not just any pillar, but one of the two pillars holding up the roof of the surrounding buildings of the market place. Groaning as she rubbed her head, Hercula was startled at the sound of cracking and creaking emitting from the pillar.

 

“Oh, no!” she yelped, jumping up and trying to steady it, but too late. The pillar toppled and as she staggered backwards, trying to hold it, she accidently knocked the other one over. Both pillars knocked the other pillars next to them and they all began to fall like dominoes in two halves of a circle. “No, no, no,” Hercula begged, trying to stop them as the people all around her began to scream and run in panic.

 

“Hercula?” Amphitryon emerged from Phineus’s store to meet the havoc happening around his daughter. “What the-?”

 

“Hang on, Pop!” Hercula called, running around to try and stop the falling pillars. “Be right back!”

 

“No, no, no!” Demetrius begged as both sets of falling pillars came to a close around his shop. Thankfully, the final two pillars fell against one another and everything was still. He breathed out, but a second later Hercula slipped on a spilled patch of oil and collided with him. They both flew back into the store and crashed into a row of newly made pots and vases, finally bringing the rest of the store caving down around them.

 

As the dust cleared, Hercula emerged from the debris to meet Helena’s scornful scowl. “Nice on, Jerkula,” she snapped, turning on her heel and marching off.

 

“This is the last straw, Amphitryon!” Demetrius exclaimed, marching up to them. “That girl is a menace!”

 

“She’s too dangerous to be around normal people!” shouted a woman in the crowd.

 

“Yeah!” agreed several others.

 

“She didn’t mean it,” Amphitryon said. “She’s only a kid.”

 

“I’m warning you, Amphitryon-!” Demetrius snapped.

 

“Hey, leave him alone!” Hercula cried, darting between them. “It’s not his fault!”

 

“No! We all know whose fault this was!” a man nearby snarled.

 

“Hercula can’t help it that she can’t control her strength,” Amphitryon insisted.

 

“You just keep that...that...that freak away from here, Amphitryon!” Demetrius snapped.

 

Hercula flinched as the people walked away from her, grumbling to themselves about having to rebuild their shops.

 

“Hercula,” Amphitryon began, but she shrugged him off and ran out of the market place.

 

Her Father found her later on the outskirts of their country farm, leaning against one of the trees and staring into the distance. She glanced at him and sighed, and he could see that she had been crying. “Why do I have to be so different to everyone else?” she asked.

 

“Hercula, it’s not your fault,” Amphitryon began.

 

“But they’re right, Pop. I don’t belong there. Sometimes I just feel like...there’s somewhere else I’m meant to be. I know, I know, that’s silly, but...still.”

 

She wandered away from him, just aimlessly wandering about the forest area and wondering where she was supposed to find the answer to such a question. Where did she belong, then, if not here?

 

“I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong...” she murmured to herself, sadly.

 

In her dreams, there was a place, somewhere far away from here in Greece, where she was welcomed like a hero, and where people were actually pleased to see her, where they didn’t shy away from her just because of her strength, and where she could finally belong.

 

The question was, did such a place actually exist?

 

Kicking feebly at a pebble, Hercula turned and made her way back towards the house. It was beginning to get dark and she could see, silhouetted in the doorway, the outlines of her parents.

 

“Hercula, there’s something your Mother and I need to tell you,” Amphitryon said.

 

And so, it all came out, the story of how they had found her atop the mountain one night, in the dark, frightened and alone.

 

“But I don’t understand,” Hercula said when they had finished telling the tale. “If you found me, then where did I come from before? And why was I abandoned?”

 

Alcmene smiled and pressed the golden symbol she had kept hidden away for fourteen years into her daughter’s hands. “This was around your neck when we found you. It’s the symbol of the Gods. We think you must have been favoured by them at birth.”

 

“The Gods?” Hercula smiled and leapt to her feet. “Then they must have the answer! If I go to the Temple of Zeus, I can-!” Then she noticed the way her parents were smiling sadly at her and sighed. “Mum, Pop, you’re the greatest parents anyone could ever have, and I’ll always love you both. But if the Gods have the answers, well, I’ve got to try and find out.”

 

So, with the blessing of her parents, Hercula set off for the Temple of Zeus.

 

The journey took what felt like a lifetime, but eventually she came across the giant building dedicated to the Father of the Gods. Stepping into the vast, empty room, her footsteps echoed on the tiled floor as she faced the enormous statue of Zeus that was as tall as a mountain and carved from pure white stone.

 

“Oh, mighty Zeus,” she began, her voice trembling slightly. “Hear my prayer. I need your guidance, because...I’m lost. I don’t know where it is I belong.”

 

A burst of thunder outside caused her to jump and suddenly a streak of lightning shot inside from the open skylight and hit the statue. To her surprise, the thing didn’t crack; instead the enormous closed carved eyes snapped open and the face curved into a smile.

 

“My girl,” the statue of Zeus said. “My little Hercula.”

 

Hercula screamed as the statue reached down to grab her. She stumbled backwards, knocking over a candlestick and putting them all out as she fell to the floor.

 

“Hey, hey, hey!” the enormous hand closed around her. Hercula tried to wriggle free but both hands kept closing around her. “Hold on, kiddo, what’s your rush? After all these years, is this the kind of welcome you give your own Father?”

 

“Father?” Hercula repeated, finally pushing an enormous thumb off her so that she could breathe.

 

“Didn’t know you had a famous Father, huh?” Zeus asked, bringing her up in his palm so that she was level with his face. “Surprise!” His bellow caused her hair to ruffle and Hercula coughed. “Look how much you’ve grown,” Zeus cooed, smiling gently at her. “Why, you’ve got all your Mother’s beautiful features, but _my_ eyes.”

 

Hercula smiled, nervously. “Sorry, but I’m confused. If _you_ really are my Father, then wouldn’t that make _me-?”_

 

“A Goddess, yes,” Zeus finished.

 

“A Goddess?” Hercula repeated, falling back onto his palm in shock. “A _Goddess?”_ Then, pulling herself together, she added “But, then why did you leave me here on Earth? Didn’t you want me?”

 

“Of course we did,” Zeus replied. “Your Mother and I loved you with all our hearts, still do, but someone stole you from us, and turned you Mortal. And only Gods can live on Mount Olympus.”

 

Hercula felt her heart sink. “And there’s nothing you can do?”

 

“No, but there’s something you can do,” Zeus replied.

 

“What?” Hercula scrabbled to her feet. “I’ll do anything!”

 

“If you can prove yourself a True Hero on Earth, you’ll regain your Goddess-hood,” Zeus explained.

 

“But how do I do that?”

 

“You must first seek out Philoctea, the trainer of Heroes.”

 

“Philoctea! Right! I’ll go right now!”

 

Hercula made to leap down from Zeus’s palm, but he caught her with a laugh and set her down on the ground. “Whoa, hold your horses! Oh, which reminds me..!” Zeus put a hand to his mouth and whistled. A burst of light came flying in through the open skylight and manifested itself into a beautiful, fully-grown white horse with a blue mane and tail, and, to Hercula’s surprise, two feathery wings protruding from its back. It swooped and landed in front of her, sniffing at her in appreciation.

 

“You probably don’t remember Pegasus,” Zeus chuckled, “but you two go way back.”

 

Hercula reached up a hand to pet the horse, and then, to her surprise, Pegasus headbutted her. Almost at once, however, she was struck with a memory of a tiny foal with a blue mane and wings sniffing her, and her doing exactly the same thing. Pegasus licked her cheeky, sloppily, and she laughed, suddenly remembering.

 

“Oh, Pegasus!” she exclaimed, hugging the horse, who nuzzled up to her at once.

 

“He’s a magnificent horse,” Zeus agreed as Hercula leapt upon his back. “With the brain of a bird.”

 

Hercula laughed again as Pegasus took to the air once more. “Come on, Pegasus; let’s find Philoctea and hope she can make me a True Hero!”

 

“Good luck, Hercula,” Zeus called after her as Pegasus took off. “I know you’ll make me proud.”

 

Hercula smiled and clung tightly to Pegasus as he flew them through the night and into the clouds of morning, swooping over valley and sea until they finally reached a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. She frowned as they touched down and looked around at the broken statues surrounded by early morning mist. The place seemed deserted.

 

“Are you sure this is the right place?” she asked Pegasus, who nodded, even though he looked a little spooked by the island. “Alright, then,” Hercula muttered. “Let’s find Philoctea.”


End file.
